Academic Commons Search Resultshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog.rss?f%5Bdepartment_facet%5D%5B%5D=Sophia+Institute&q=&rows=500&sort=record_creation_date+desc
Academic Commons Search Resultsen-usReview of Demetrios Trakatellis, Archbishop of America. Authority and Passion: Christological Aspects of the Gospel According to Mark.http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156416
Gall, William Ephremhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:19000Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Our Lord’s image is revealed in the Gospel of Mark with singular clarity and power, according to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis in his 1987 book Authority and Passion: Christological Aspects of the Gospel According to Mark. This image is held forth as “the irreplaceable criterion of every Christology.”1 This strong statement is supported by a complete exposition of the Gospel of Mark which brings forth key details and much reflection in regard to the two overarching Christological aspects, authority and passion. Authority is the divine Christological aspect, expressions of Christ’s power and glory; passion is the human aspect, the various forms of suffering Christ experienced. These two aspects are woven together in Mark’s narrative to enable the hearer to take both to heart together, avoiding both triumphalism and despair.ReligionSophia InstituteReviewsReview of John Chryssavgis. In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers.http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156422
Petrakis, Vickihttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:19004Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000This study explores the essence of the monastic desert movement from the third century to the end of the fourth century CE by men and women who fled the surrounding cities they lived in, and came into the arid sands of Egypt in order to continue the trajectory of life. The ancient texts that survive, mainly 1,202 Sayings of the Desert Fathers or Apothegmata, which Dr. Chryssavgis explores for the purpose of resurrecting the ancient spirit of the desert within a modern context, reveal that these men and women had been specific about their goal in coming to the desert: “We entreat you, make us truly alive.” In seeking out these “…unconventional persons…[who] sought aggressively to understand the deeper meaning and the fuller measure of human existence…,” the author breathes new life into their Sayings.ReligionSophia InstituteReviewsReview of Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, ed. Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology.http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156434
Trostyanskiy, Sergeyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:19012Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000This source book of pneumatology is a collection of excerpts from various Christian sources. Taking into account “an unprecedented interest in the Holy Spirit” in the past few decades and the correspondingly extensive amount of literature on this subject, Kärkkäinen gives to students of theology and church history a chance to get a good glimpse at the issues associated with the Holy Spirit and Its role in Trinitarian theology, ecclesiology, and soteriology. The ambitious task of introducing almost the entire content of Spirit theology to the reader is fulfilled through the careful choice of the most significant works on the subject, supplemented with introductory notes to each excerpt.Religionst2399Union Theological Seminary, Sophia InstituteReviewsReview of Daniel Fanous. Taught by God: Making Sense of the Difficult Sayings of Jesus.http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156431
Trostyanskiy, Sergeyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:19011Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Dr. Daniel Fanous, an Orthodox independent researcher with degrees in medicine and engineering, presents to the reader the most profound sayings of Jesus and attempts to decipher their meanings by contextualizing them within the framework of first-century Mediterranean culture. Taking into account that the sayings represent God’s speech and are “intrinsic manifestations of Jesus’ entire life and mission” the author empathetically insists on the necessity of placing the sayings into their proper historical and intellectual contexts to extract their significance. He does so because the un-contextualized reading of ancient sources leads to the fusion of ancient and modern horizons and results in misinterpretations at best and to significant doctrinal distortions of the original meaning at worst.Religionst2399Union Theological Seminary, Sophia InstituteReviewsReview of Michael F. Palmer. Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Readings.http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156428
Trostyanskiy, Sergeyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:19009Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000This anthology of the philosophy of religion represents a successful attempt to introduce the reader to key Western religious thinkers and their heritage. The author’s intention to create a “user-friendly and digestible” book finds its fulfillment in the well-structured and historically contextualized volume which elucidates all essential aspects of philosophy of religion. To the reader’s surprise, this volume, arranged by topic, extends its content beyond the narrow scope of traditional anthologies heavily geared toward a few key themes of philosophy of religion to the exclusion of many other relevant topics. Thus, beyond common themes associated with the attributes of God, the arguments for God’s existence, and the nature of evil, the author introduces philosophical works on miracles, religious language, and the diversity of world religions, among others. The most distinctive features of this book are its carefully crafted introductions to each chapter’s problems; biographical and philosophical summaries of each thinker; and the list of primary and secondary sources that will allow the reader to pursue the further studies on the subject.Religionst2399Union Theological Seminary, Sophia InstituteReviewsReview of Laurent Cleenewerck. His Broken Body: Understanding and Healing the Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156425
Trostyanskiy, Sergeyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:19006Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Can Eucharistic ecclesiology introduced by twentieth century Russian exiles be traced to Patristic sources and considered a framework capable of resolving interfaith issues? Does Eucharistic ecclesiology address the problem of the communion between churches and the relations of primacy and supremacy? Can it offer a workable solution to the unification of the divided “body of Christ”? While Laurent Cleenewerck boldly attempts to answer these questions, his interpretations are not without their shortcomings.Religionst2399Union Theological Seminary, Sophia InstituteReviewsReview of Hieromonk Silouan. Wisdom Songs: A Book of Wisdom Chapters in Five Centuries.http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156419
Knitter, Paulhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:19001Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000For anyone not familiar with the ancient patristic genre Kephalaia, hermit Priest-monk Silouan provides an inviting, tantalizing, and, in the end, captivating introduction.Religionpk2256Union Theological Seminary, Sophia InstituteReviewsThe New Emperors? Post-Soviet Presidents and Church-State Relations in Ukraine and Russiahttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156386
Gvosdev, Nokolas K.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18983Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Twenty years ago, the theme of this conference, “Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience” would have been considered by many to be of interest primarily to historians and theologians, but not particularly relevant to the political discourse underway in many of the countries which traditionally formed part of the Eastern Christian world. As the Soviet Union began to collapse, its own constituent republics and the countries of the Eastern Bloc, comprising the historic core of the Eastern Christian world, began looking to the West, and particularly the United States, for their political models. The last Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, attempted to emulate Western “economic and political practices” rather than turning to pre-Communist traditions and models.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesGregory the Great and a Post-Imperial Discoursehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156374
Demacopoulos, Georgehttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18979Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Last Spring, quite out of the blue, I stumbled upon an essay by Catherine Keller that was so provocative that I am no longer able to think about the relationship between Christianity and Empire as I once did. It is not that I found her conclusions to be especially persuasive but rather I was transfixed by the profound insight with which she begins. Her first sentence reads: “Christianity suffers from an imperial condition.” A paragraph or so later she observes, “When [Christianity] opened its young mouth to speak, it spoke in the many tongues of empire—nations and languages colonized by Rome, and before that Greece, and before that Babylon, which had first dispersed the Jews into an imperial space.” Keller rightly identifies Christianity’s transitions from its subaltern position, to its adoption of imperial symbols, and then its ascendance to an imperial status of its own. The bulk of her essay is devoted to an argument for the compatibility of postcolonial critique and the Christian theology of love.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesThe Theology of St. Cyprian of Carthage: The Unity of the Church and the Role of the Bishophttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156368
Damian, Theodorhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18977Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The problem of the unity of the Church was a main preoccupation for its theologians especially in times when the Church passed through difficult crises threatening its very existence with annihilation, distortion, or corruption. This was the case in the time of Cyprian when the Church had to face heresies, schisms, and persecutions that threatened both the being and the visible unity of the Christian community. That is why, according to the specific circumstances in which he wrote, Cyprian had his own approach to the problem of the unity of the Church, which proves the validity of one important principle in the life of this institution, enduring throughout the whole of Church history and through all generations: unitas in diversitas, its character of unity in diversity.ReligionSophia InstituteArticles“The Limits Now Fixed”: Appealing to Authority in the Trullan Canonshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156371
Danckaert, Seraphimhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18978Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The Council in Trullo has shaped the canonical tradition of the Orthodox Church in powerful ways. It was summoned to bring discipline to many aspects of church life, and its canons therefore address liturgical, pastoral, administrative, and ethical issues. Perhaps even more significantly, its second canon confirmed the corpus canonum that we have come to know as authoritative in the Orthodox tradition. For these and other reasons, a number of recent publications have focused on Trullo. Few, however, have examined a particularly unusual characteristic of the Trullan canons: Unlike the majority of earlier canonical legislation, the canons promulgated at Trullo are full of quotations from Scripture, the Fathers, and previous canonical sources. This noticeable departure from previous models of canonical composition reflects a larger trend in theological writing and discourse—a trend with significant implications for the Orthodox understanding of authority.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesLiteracy, Orality, and the Brokerage of Power and Authority in Late Antique Egyptian Christianityhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156366
Antonova, Stamenka E.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18976Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The question of literary genre is closely connected with the line of development of Christianity in general, and of the Egyptian desert movement of the late antique period in particular. From different Christian practices and experimentations with asceticism in the third and fourth centuries of the common era emerge differing forms of expression and articulation. In Egypt, for instance, there evolve at least three distinct genres that take different forms and yet are spurred by the very same phenomenon of the practice of askesis and/or the encounter with men and women who endeavor to coin and to improve on such ascetic practices. One literary genre is the emerging elaboration of rules and manuals regulating and governing the daily monastic activities; this genre, albeit a later development in the Egyptian desert tradition, comes to be very influential with the passage of time, particularly in the western and the eastern churches. In this vein is the activity of Basil of Caesarea, when he attempts to write the Shorter and the Longer Rules, and of many others. The production of rules is furthermore strictly associated with the construction of one particular – perhaps totalitarian in its character – model of ascetic life, namely cenobism. This is the kind of genre which will not be treated here but it will remain in the background as a reminder of other possible developments articulating divergent forms of not only literature, but also of actual ascetic practices.Religionsea20Religion, Sophia InstituteArticlesSymphonia in the Secular or How to Be Orthodox When You Lose Your Empirehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156380
Dunn, David Jameshttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18981Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Vigen Guroian has observed that “diasporic” Orthodoxy struggles to know how to be church in a modern, secular, and democratic context. Thus, he calls for developing the richness of our past political philosophy into a modern social ethic, one that resists the dual temptations of accommodationism and sectarianism. This essay partly responds to that call by developing symphonia into an ecclesial ethic of provisional accommodationism and situational sectarianism. Under symphonia, the church related to the empire by sometimes supporting and sometimes opposing it. My thesis is that in a secular situation, symphonia must go from being a defunct political ideal to an ecclesiology of conditional engagement, not simply with the state, but, with secular society itself, on the basis of its proleptic realization of the kingdom of God.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesAuthority in the Church: Confronting Contemporary Challengeshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156377
Dobbs, Frankhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18980Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The consideration of authority in the Orthodox church leads us directly into the roots of the tradition and history of the Church. To understand the primary sources, we must acquire not just the words and forms that the fathers have bequeathed us; we must go further, and enter into the minds of the fathers; think as they did, and creatively marry the best that civilization has to offer with the deep mysteries of the Incarnation. To be considered faithful, one cannot simply follow the forms of the holy inspired masters, one must also reason as they did and thus conform to them with the mind and the heart.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesChurch–State Right-Ordering: St. Columba’s Early Medieval Example in the Insular Isleshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156389
McCann, Kimhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18984Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The Eastern Christian teachings of the Desert Fathers heavily influenced the development of the pre-schismatic Church of the Insular Isles, an area that today comprises Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. The relationship between Church and State was influenced as well by principles rooted in the early Irish legal concept of sóerad, the freeing and ennobling of the Church by State powers. Unlike much of the early Christian world, over which Rome had imperial sovereignty, Ireland – where the initial Christianization of the Insular Isles took root – was never invaded or governed by Roman forces. As a result, the dark and medieval ages in Ireland saw a melding of pre-Christian Irish legal precepts with an acceptance of Christianity by the ruling powers, which were dynastic clans more akin to tribal governance than the Roman political system.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesThe Synod Guiding the Church: A Patristic and Theoethical Perspectivehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156383
Eftychiadis, Eftychios Philhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18982Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The notion of the synod of hierarchs of the Orthodox Church, as a final authority for guiding the church derives from the biblical example of the first synod of the Apostles. This Synod in Jerusalem even included the Apostle Paul. In this paper, I will focus on the idea of the synod of the hierarchs of a national church which also accepts the principle of freedom of religion. The synod of hierarchs guides the church by defining praxes for the needs of others in its ministry. Our present discussion turns around principles of Orthodox contextual theoethical thought. To that end, I will argue that the hierarchs of the synod require additional input, apart from their own priestly insights, in order appropriately to fulfill their mission of guiding the church. One of the chief motives of this paper is to examine the reasons why Orthodox hierarchs in synod need ideas and creative input from the other ranks of clergy, including ordained deaconesses, as well the laity, both male and female; all with their own irreplaceable perspectives on truth gained from life-experiences.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesPhoebe as an Example of Female Authority Exercised in the Early Churchhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156392
McCarty, V. K.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18985Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The Apostle Paul’s glowing witness to the Deacon Phoebe in Rom.16:1-2 3 reflects a hard-working church leader who might have been surprised to discover that she is the first person in the history of the church, male or female, to be formally designated “deacon” by name in scripture. The example of Phoebe represents one of the ways authority was exercised in the life of the Church during the earliest generations of believers confessing that Christ, the source of authority, is Lord. In the collaborative ministry of Paul and Phoebe, we see an example of “the Lord himself working through the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church.” Like many of the earliest Christians, Phoebe may have been a far-flung traveler and it is likely that she was Paul’s chosen courier for his Letter to the Romans; his gratitude expressed for Phoebe’s generosity, to himself and many others, rings true in the witness of scripture. In a patriarchal culture, where it was often assumed that women were properly to be considered an invisible component of society and justifiably under-reported, Paul acknowledges a “genuine pneumatic endowment” in the women co-workers he singles out for praise. Phoebe is remembered by Paul--and in the canon of scripture--as a sister, as a benefactor, and as a deacon. She is a useful New Testament figure to study since the witness of her authority is attested so early in the history of the Church that it transcends the differences between Eastern and Western traditions.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesThe Relationship between Bishops, Synods, and the Metropolitan-Bishop in the Orthodox Canonical Traditionhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156401
Rentel, Alexanderhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18988Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Beginning with St. Basil the Great, Orthodox canonists maintain an eye both on the canons themselves and the practice of the Church. St. Basil said towards the end of his Third Canon that it is necessary “to know those things according to the strict rule and those things that are customary.” This two-fold task of a canonist reflects the nature of the canons themselves, which are literary expressions of what the Church considers to be normative. Various Church councils and fathers drafted the canons, which now form the corpus canonum, during the first millennium. The canons however are theological responses to particular problems and in no way comprehensively describe all aspects of Church life. The life of the Church was and is much more extensive. Consequently the vast reservoir of experience that the Church has needs to factor into any canonical activity. Since the canons are fixed points of reference through their acceptance, they provide the starting point for canonical work. And, as with any text of late antiquity, they require careful reading and explanation. Additionally, because they emerge from within the Church (fathers, councils, etc.), they take their full meaning for the Church only when considered in a broad ecclesial context. All of the tools, the material, and the methods a canonist has at hand are formed and forged by the Church. In this way, the canons are understood as theological formulations and the canonist finds his work as a theologian.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesEditor’s Prefacehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156398
Soumakis, Fevronia K.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18987Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The essays in this volume were delivered at the Third Annual Conference of the Sophia Institute in December 2010 at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The theme of that conference, “Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience,” brought forth a diverse group of scholars who contributed their perspectives on the ways the Eastern Orthodox Church, in its broadest sense, has negotiated the notions of power, authority, (dis)obedience, and resistance over time and space. These insightful essays promise to draw the Orthodox world into a dynamic and productive discourse. This volume then can be seen as evidence of the conference’s scholarly merits and of the creative energy exerted by Orthodox thinkers in generating the momentum to educate, debate, and further an understanding of our faith on important issues. Some of the authors hold positions in academia, while others are graduate students or independent scholars. All are exceptionally qualified to contribute their intellectual understanding of the Eastern Orthodox experience.Religionfks2102History and Education, Sophia InstituteArticlesTraining the “Community Servant”: The Greek Orthodox Church of America and the Teachers College of St. Basil’s Academy,1959-1973http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156407
Soumakis, Fevronia K.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18990Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000The history of Greek educational institutions and Greek American women’s participation and experiences in their development in the United States remains largely absent from the scholarly literature. Despite the emphasis of the vital importance of Hellenic-Christian paideia found in official church documents, the press, and other sources, the Greek Orthodox Church community’s expansive educational efforts, as well as the role of Greek American and Greek born women who staffed the expanding community day and afternoon schools throughout the twentieth century have yet to be the subjects of comprehensive studies. As Greek women in America were actively supporting the expanding Greek Orthodox educational system as teachers, secretaries, choir directors, and fundraisers, it was the church hierarchy which articulated the needs of the Greek immigrant community and constructed a physical and ideological space for women to fulfill those needs. In doing so, the hierarchy ultimately directed their resources and efforts and defined their position within the community. In this essay, I examine the role of the Greek Orthodox Church of America in shaping the trajectory of St. Basil’s Academy Teachers College during the period 1959-1973. Although the College was established in 1944, I focus on the time period when Archbishop Iakovos assumed his position and turned his attention towards expanding Greek education. This study ends in 1973 when the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America (hereafter Archdiocese) along with community leaders decided to merge the Teachers College with the newly established Hellenic College in Brookline, Massachusetts. To that end, three questions guide this paper: What was the purpose of the Teachers College and how did it change over time? Who defined this purpose and why? Who was the college designed for?Religionfks2102History and Education, Sophia InstituteArticlesHoly Disobedience: Resistance to Secular and Ecclesiastical Authority in Orthodox Christian Historyhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156404
Siecienski, A. Edwardhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18989Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000As one begins a study of Christian history, and in particular the patristic period, what becomes immediately apparent is how often figures regarded as “heroes” of the Christian narrative found themselves at odds with both secular and ecclesiastical authority. These heroes and saints were the ones who, to protect the orthodox faith, disobeyed the biblical injunction to “submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men” (1 Peter 2:13). They were the ones who ignored Ignatius of Antioch’s plea to be obedient to the bishop, respecting him “as you respect the authority of God the Father.” Of course, this dynamic is not exclusive to the patristic period. For example, during the thirteenth and fifteenth century debates over union with the Roman Catholic Church, once again we find the saints actively struggling against both ecclesiastical and secular authority in order to preserve the Orthodox faith.ReligionSophia InstituteArticles‘I Must Decrease’: Spiritual Direction and Power in the Orthodox Traditionhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156410
Torrance, Alexishttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18991Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000I was prompted to present on the topic of power and spiritual direction by some words of Fr. Alexander Schmemann. They struck me, and have remained etched in my mind ever since: “there is nothing more frightening than the thirst for power over souls. It is the thirst of the anti-christ.” Schmemann knew first-hand the kinds of distortions taking place under the name of Orthodoxy which this line evokes. Distortions, perhaps, should not be surprising. After all, if Lord Acton was right when he declared that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” then the potential risks inherent in the ministry of spiritual direction in the Orthodox Church become clear. But this paper is not about the frequent and tragic abuse of spiritual authority and power in the history of Orthodoxy. I want rather to focus on one of the chief ways in which the Orthodox tradition has attempted to promote and protect the Christian integrity of the ministry of the spiritual father (and the spiritual mother), namely through the tactics of the director’s self-abasement, humility, and love. These tactics, I submit, are an attempt at the subversion of models of power as they generally obtain in this world, after the example of, and for the sake of, Christ.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesAn Exploration of Hierarchy as Fractal in the Theology of Dionysios the Areopagitehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156413
Williams, Georgia J.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18992Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Eric Perl, in his provocatively titled book, Theophany: The Neo-Platonic Philosophy of Dionysius the Areopagite, argues not only that Dionysios’ thought is thoroughly Neo-Platonic and fully compatible with Christianity, but that “the Dionysian doctrine of cosmic and ecclesiastical hierarchy is not only consistent with but essential to holy tradition” and that “Dionysius represents precisely those doctrines which are most typical of [Eastern] Orthodoxy in distinction from the west.” Like it or not, it is not that easy to ignore hierarchy in the sense the Areopagite had in mind in the Corpus Dionysiacum (CD). It is Dionysios who is credited with the first use of the word “hierarchy” as an abstract noun and the influence of this abstract notion of hierarchy has been far-reaching and is ubiquitous within society, not only within the Christian churches. Two related ideas continue to trouble me in the aftermath of reading Perl on Dionysios. The first is the thought that in our natural suspicion of hierarchy we may be sowing the very seeds that will keep us from ever being able to tap the wisdom of the CD. The second, is that if Perl – whose arguments are thorough, persuasive, and beautiful – is correct in both his understanding of neo-Platonic hierarchy and in his assertion that this is the thoroughgoing philosophical backdrop for the Areopagite, then hierarchy isn’t just a convenient construct dreamed up by churchmen that helps us get closer to God if we follow the rules of order, nor is it just a description of the functional workings of the mystical and sacramental life as understood within the Eastern ascetic tradition; though neither of those understandings would be wrong per se, both would be deficient. If Perl is right, Dionysios understood all creation to be Theophany, and hierarchy as the very structure of the entire created order, which reflects the life of God in existence. This hierarchy is not an “optional extra,” and opting out of participation – in so far as this is even possible – is, quite literally, to use the words of St. Paul (Rom 1:25), “exchanging the truth for a lie” and straightforwardly spells physical and spiritual death. For those of us with anarchist (or at least rebellious) tendencies – for those who have a developed sense of justice and despise hierarchical abuses – the news seems bad. If Perl is right, running away from Church structures won’t solve this problem because you can’t run away from the structure of existence itself. What exactly are we supposed to do? St. Symeon the New Theologian’s solution was to argue that the true bishop is the person with a pure heart (he had monastics in mind); but Dionysios’s fiery 8th Epistle to the monk Demophilos makes it more than clear that he does not see this as a possible solution for the very reason that hierarchical order is violated. Abolish the structure of reality we cannot. Nihilism doesn’t seem a very attractive option, so what are we left with?ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesAuthority, Obedience, and the Holiness of God: The New Testament Sense of the Kingdomhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:156395
McGuckin, John A.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18986Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000Exousia, which is the [delete] Greek scriptural word for ‘Authority’ illustrates for us the remarkable range of paradoxes contained in this Greek semantical term, for it was also the customary word in Hellenistic texts for legal permission, and thus freedom from constraint. The ancient Greeks used the word Exousía to connote the freedom to do a thing, as distinct from the issue of the ability or capacity (dynamis) to do it. Exousía is thus the authority needful to do a thing. Dynamis is the power or skill to be able to do it. In classical literature referring to the acts of kings or gods the two things were often presumed to be one; but not so in ordinary civic life. In Late Antiquity the Roman law codes deduced from this an important cultural distinction that still massively impinges our Christian legal and civic construct: that between auctoritas and potestas; which we today might translate as the difference between executive power (such as that exercised by the Emperor) and moral authority (such as that claimed by the senate). There is here a sense growing, and it comes more to the fore in Late Antiquity as a result of the widespread dissemination of Stoic ethical reflections on human culture, that ‘might is not always right.’Religionjam401Religion, Sophia InstituteArticlesPower and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience: Papers of the Sophia Institute Academic Conference New York, December 2010http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:155822
McGuckin, John A.; Antonova, Stamenka E.; Torrance, Alexis; Danckaert, Seraphim; Rentel, Alexander; Damian, Theodor; Williams, Georgia; Demacopoulos, George; Siecienski, A. Edward; McCann, Kim; Gvosdev, Nicolas; McCarty, V.K.; Dunn, David James; Dobbs, Frank; Eftychiadis, Eftychios Philhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:18843Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000The essays in this volume were delivered at the Third Annual Conference of the Sophia Institute in December 2010 at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The theme of that conference, “Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience,” brought forth a diverse group of scholars who contributed their perspectives on the ways the Eastern Orthodox Church, in its broadest sense, has negotiated the notions of power, authority, (dis)obedience, and resistance over time and space. These insightful essays promise to draw the Orthodox world into a dynamic and productive discourse.Religious history, Religionjam401, sea20Religion, History and Education, Union Theological Seminary, Sophia InstituteBooksThe Russian Orthodox Church on Human Rightshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138646
Trostyanskiy, Sergeyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11169Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000The Russian Church in its official teaching on human dignity, freedom, and rights has recently proposed that human rights “cannot be superior to the values of the spiritual world. Thus, “It is inadmissible and dangerous to interpret human rights as the ultimate and universal foundation of societal life to which religious views and practice should be subjected. Human rights should not subjugate any religious values and norms, but be subject to them. Thus, human rights are denied a status of the ultimate authority and are given a subordinate status in the social contract of the Russian Church. What is designated as human rights? Do human rights have a reasonable degree of actuality?ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesThe Ordination of Deaconesses as a Reconciliatory and Liberating Praxishttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138649
Eftychiadis, Eftychios Philhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11170Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000The main purpose of this article is to analyze the event of female diaconal ordination in the Eastern Early Church in response to very important needs. The hypothesis of this work is to retrieve and also analyze contextual elements in relation to needs in the praxes of the early church and its great Fathers, in ordaining women to the diaconate, and to identify significant theoethical values that are derived from those praxes in the early Tradition of the church.Religion, Women's studiesSophia InstituteArticlesSeeking Justice and Promoting Human Rights: Orthodox Theological Imperatives or Afterthoughts?http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138633
Kireopoulos, Antonioshttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11165Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000The 2009 Sophia Institute conference seeks to explore Orthodoxy’s contribution to the Chruch’s social witness in the world. This witness- in different contexts wrought by the vagaries of history- has been mixed. Certainly the church has historically affirmed the scriptural injunction to feed the poor, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and visit the imprisoned. Is this affirmation at the heart of the Church’s lifeReligionSophia InstituteArticles'Time for the Exchange of Gifts': Sharing with the Poor in Developing Countrieshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138643
Talley, Sue Lanehttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11168Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000This article shares observation of two particular Orthodox missions, conducted by me, my husband, Dana, and my son Johnathan, as well as some reflections on our own personal philosophy, based upon years of domestic and international travel as Orthodox Christians in the music ministry. We have been inspired by the open attitude to the Orthodox concept of mission to the poor, as demonstrated by the leadership of Archbishop Anastasios in Albania, and by some of the modern followers of the V. Rec. Fr. Alexander Men, in Russia. Their love for Orthodox Christianity has been so open-hearted that it has caused some less bold hearts to express concern about the fact that both of these prominent Orthodox evangelists were willing to evaluate and use experiences and wisdom from non-Orthodox source in their own missionary efforts to be to bear in their mission useful things, which benefited the poor.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesSaints or Communists? Educating Orthodox Christian Youth for Love of the Neighborhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138612
Bezzerides, Annhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11159Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000For the Christian religious education of Orthodox youth, specifically high school and college students, there is a growing focus on love of and service to the needy neighbor. This focus is long in coming: the Orthodox churches in the United States have generally not been known for their social outreach to those outside their own ethnicity and a good place to change this is through educating our youth. This focus is also much needed among a population of youth in America who have been called “Generation Me” and who might not naturally look outward in their spiritual pilgrimage.Religious educationSophia InstituteArticlesThe Marian Dimension of Mother Maria's Orthodox Social Christianityhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138627
Ermolaev, Nataliahttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11163Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000“Mother Maria,” has in recent years become an exemplar of modern Orthodox social engagement. Often hailed as Orthodoxy’s Dorothy Day, Skobtsova is known for the network of shelters, soup kitchens and medical facilities she opened from impoverished Russian émigrés in Paris during the 1930s. Perhaps her most radical work was in the French Resistance movement, where her assistance to French Jews led to her arrest by the Nazis and deportation to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Many have read about Mother Maria’s dramatic life and times in the excellent biography by the priest and Slavist Sergei Hackel, whose, Pearl of Great Price: The Life of Mother Maria Skobtsova has been translated into many languages and was republished numerous times since its first appearance in 1965.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesGoing Away Hungry: The Economics of Eucharistic Worthinesshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138621
Dunn, David J.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11161Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000As a Protestant enquirer into the Orthodox Faith, I was experienced in the all-venerable potluck meal often attached to church services, but the Orthodox Paschal Feast was something else entirely. After standing for hours in a seemingly endless church service, one that began in somber tones and ended in exuberance, I could not help but see the morning meal that followed within the context of that liturgy. In the earliest years of Christianity, the Eucharist often preceded table fellowship. Likewise, our midnight Eucharist seemed to have extended itself into the basketful of meat and cheese and win at the tables in the parish hall. As a teetotaling Protestant, the liberating moderate Christian ‘wind-induced merriment’ I witnessed that night reminded me of the words of Christ at the Last Supper, when he promised to drink of the “fruit of the vine” with his disciples when he had come into his Kingdom. Seeing the joy-filled body of Christ gathered together so early in the morning, one might have thought the Kingdom had already come.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesEcumenical Diaconical Work as a Cultural Contribution to the Humanization of our Contemporary Societyhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138636
Munteanu, Danielhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11166Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000Diaconical work as an exercise of the service in the need of the destitute is called Service of Christ and Praising of God. Diaconical work reflects the “kingdom of heaven as kingdom of charity” and is at the same time an expression of the liturgical anticipation of God’s eschatological coming. This anticipation happens by the Holy Spirit, who helps people to overcome the sinful self-centering solipsism, and egoism. The reason Diaconical work never leads to narcissistic imagination and self-admiration lies in the fact that every act of love: love of neighbors, creation, and God. The Christian as a deacon sees the other with the eyes of the everlasting love of God and recognizes the dignity as a subject on which this love of God is oriented. Christian Diaconical work is not only Christocentric but also pneumato-centric. It assumes, therefore, not only pneumatology, but also certain anthropology.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesCharity and the Two Economieshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138624
Epsen, Edwardhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11162Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000A Christian will recognize that along with this usage of the term ‘charity’ there is a specifically Christian one of wider scope that refers to the supreme virtue that is synonymous with love, pity, or compassion in English, agape in Koine Greek, caritas in Latin, pieta in Italian. Though wider in scope, this sense of the term does not seem to be any more closely connected with economy; probably, the point of contact between charity in this sense and economy will be thought to pass through the narrower sense of charity as almsgiving. This is a mistake. And it is here my purpose to highlight and correct it in a way that I hope will make a special appeal to Orthodox Christians.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesGod's Philanthropia and Human Disease: Theory of Neoplasia and the Orthodox Understanding of Original Sin as a Guide for Ethical Questions Involving Genetic Manipulationhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138630
Holodny, Andrei I.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11164Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000One of the difficult and thorny questions that a person can face both theologically and strictly on a person level is the suffering and dying of children. How can a benevolent and omnipotent God allow such a vast injustice toward innocents? What does the suffering of children say about our universe, her laws and the Creator of these laws? What should be the response of humankind toward such suffering? With the advent of powerful new technologies, especially those involving genetic manipulations, these questions have become much less theoretical and much more practical and acute. In this article is an attempt to outline certain points of contact between natural scientists and physicians, on the one hand, and theologians and pastors on the other. Because neoplastic diseases are my area of endeavor, I focus on childhood cancers. However, almost everything I have to say, both in in terms of science and theology, can be applied to other childhood maladies, especially congenital and inherited diseases.Religion, Medical ethicsSophia InstituteArticlesThe Diakonia of Liturgy: Diakonia as Philanthropiahttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138640
Regule, Tevahttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11167Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000The human person is seen as created in the image of God and called to grow into that likeness. Our model for being is the Tribune God- a community of persons in shared love. As Christians, we grow into God’s likeness through our relationship with Christ and our incorporation in the mystical Body of Christ. Therefore, as mark McIntosh, a theologian known for his work on mystical theology, says “becoming who one most truly is takes place by means of relationships, by means of love for the other- both divine and human.” Our participation in the community is how and where we learn about ourselves, where we cease to be individuals and become persons in relation to others. It is through these relationships that we have the opportunity to know God not only in a cognitive sense, but also through an encounter with God is obtained by the “paths of charity and love.”ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesEmmaus House and Orthodoxy: Living with the Poorhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138618
Demaree-Â­Raboteau, Juliahttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11160Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000In 1963, when Patriarch Maximos ordained Father David Kirk in the Melkite Church of Saint Anne in Jerusalem, he said “You are ordained for the Church of God,” and he added the words, “for the poor, and for the unity of Christians.” These words laid the cornerstone for what was to become Father David’s lifelong ministry as an Orthodox priest, of working side by side with the poor in Harlem, until he died in May of 2007. His legacy lives on through the Emmaus House, a house of hospitality for the poor. In conversations with my husband Albert and I during the last two years of his life, Father David shared the hope that his work would continue to grow and develop after his death and that Orthodox Christians would be inspired to take on this kind of ministry in their service to God.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesPhilanthropia as a Social Reality of Askesis and Theosis in Gregory the Theologian's Oration: On the Love of the Poorhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138603
Petrakis, Vickihttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11156Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesRussian Monasticism and Social Engagement: The Case of the Trinity-Â­Sergius Lavra in the Nineteenth Centuryhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138594
Kenworthy, Scott M.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11153Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000A common stereotype has it that the Orthodox Church is “otherworldly” and unengaged in this world, particularly as contrasted with the social engagement of Western Christianity. According to this image, the Orthodox Church is (and has historically been) preoccupied with liturgy and ritual, on the one hand, and contemplative prayer and mysticism, on the other, and therefore has not actively sought to ameliorate the conditions of those in need. Although this depiction is not entirely inaccurate, particularly as pertains to the Orthodox Church in recent centuries, it is my argument that this lack of social engagement is not somehow “essential” to the nature of the Orthodox Church, but rather specific to particular historical circumstances.Religious historySophia InstituteArticlesSt. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Neighborly Lovehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138600
Damian, Theodorhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11155Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000For the 4th century C.E., St. John Chrysostom was like a flowing of heaven on earth and a source of God’s mercy upon people. A powerful representative of this century, he contributed substantially to the intensification of Christian faith by raising the cultural awareness of his contemporaries. Thus, Chrysostom contributed to the special brilliance of his century/ the so-called golden century of Christianity. Even during his lifetime, Chrysostom was well known and highly regarded. This is explained by the fact that St. John Chrysostom, maybe more than the other preachers of the Christian faith, combined harmoniously the principles of Christ’s Gospel consistently with his own lifestyle.ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesOrthodox Women's Defense of the Theotokos: The Case of Empress Pulcheria and the Council of Ephesushttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138597
Atanassova, Antoniahttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11154Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesEmbodying the New Society: The Byzantine Christian Instinct of Philanthropyhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138606
McGuckin, John A.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11157Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000There is philanthropy in Classical Greek thought. The Byzantines stand, in their usage of that key and plastic concept of Philanthropy, on the shoulders of a long and venerable tradition of the word’s use and its ethical significance in the classical antiquity. As with so much else in the foundations of Eastern Christian thought, what we rightly see as a distinctly new Byzantine use of the term Philanthropy to designate the appropriate Christian response to human need, the divinely inspired human movement to compassion, and the God-graced desire to establish justice, is actually a synthesis of classical thought on matters of civilized valued. These values were forged in a creative interplay as these concepts were brought into a dynamic synthesis with the New Testament and early Patristic notions of the divine Kenosis and the merciful Christ…Religionjam401Religion, Union Theological Seminary, Sophia InstituteArticlesThe Concept of Philanthropy in the Early Syrian Fathershttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138609
Gather, Jillhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11158Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000Philanthropy implies love of humankind and the wish to improve the welfare of one’s neighbor, often through charitable deeds or donations. The philanthropic mission therefore also implies relatedness, because it depends on a setting in which the needs of fellow beings are discerned and met. The understanding that philanthropy and communal existence are intimately linked is at the heart of this article. Given the close association of philanthropic work and interrelatedness, a discussion of the former notion within the context of Oriental Christianity may, at first sight, appear a rather hopeless enterprise, especially if considering the more extreme manifestations of early Syrian ascetical practices , which are reported in historical source. Passages from texts, such as Theodoret of Cyrrhus’ History of the Monks of Syria, Palladius’ Historia Lausiaca, or Sozomen’s Church History, conjure up the image of Syrain ascetics living in remote, isolated areas, untouched by civilization.Religious historySophia InstituteArticlesPresident's Prefacehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138425
McGuckin, John A.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11109Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000Religionjam401Sophia InstituteArticlesSt. John Chrysostom on Social Parasiteshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138418
Blowers, Paul M.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11107Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesPhilanthropy and Social Compassion in Eastern Orthodox Tradition: Papers of the Sophia Institute Academic Conference, New York, Dec. 2009http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138409
http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11104Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000The essays in this collection were delivered at the Second Annual Conference of the Sophia Institute, convened at Union Theological Seminary in New York City on the 4th of December 2009. The central theme of the conference was philanthropy and social compassion within the Eastern Orthodox Tradition. The breadth of historical and contemporary concerns addressed within this volume, cogently articulated from representatives among the Orthodox laity, Orthodox clergy, scholars situated within other traditions in Christianity and leading academics in the field of Christian studies, has effectively given us a modern day florilegium, that is a vibrant bouquet of flowers as it were, from which to pick and choose for our edification and instruction. A number of the essays in this collection, on account of their breadth and range of critical engagement, evade conveniently fitting into the somewhat artificial categories of scholarship such as historical, contemporary, theoretical or practical oriented studies. Much of the scholarship represented in this collection brings historical analyses to bear on contemporary concerns. Furthermore, many of the essays in this volume effectively blend together historical reflection with practical social engagement. For the sake of an expedient orientation towards the diverse materials represented in this volume, the essays were grouped together in a broadly conceived organizational manner.ReligionReligion, Sophia InstituteBooksOn the ground: Realizing an 'altered' philoptochiahttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138415
Holman, Susan R.http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11106Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000ReligionSophia InstituteArticlesEditor's Prefacehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:138422
Pereira, Matthew Josephhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11108Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000Religionmp2587Religion, Sophia InstituteArticles